Thoughts on branding
I've been thinking a lot about branding lately, especially the way Obama masterfully branded himself during his campaign, one I'd wish he'd adopt to the presidency more. In this regard he could learn a little from Bush, who artfully misused words to enforce the exact opposite (i.e. "No child left behind", "Patriot Act", "Clear Skies Act", etc) which should be a case study in branding. But I digress. I've been thinking about a definition of a brand, and here is what I've come up with:
Establishing, with time and execution, an inseparable link between two ideas.
I think the most important word in this definition is time. In this instance ‘time’ is one of two things. 1) a super short amount of time, or 2) a very very long amount of time. The subjective space between is non-committal at best. Time is the link between your product or service and it’s emotional after taste
A super short amount of time
When I think of Snuggie, the blanket with sleeves, that’s all I think of. I never think of the Slanket or any other, arguably better alternatives or predecessors. It’s because in a super short amount of time I was bombarded with Snuggie commercials. It has succeeded in crowding out the other players by pure force of will, and of course an astronomical marketing budget. However, why does this one stick when others haven’t? Is a media blitz sustainable?
A very very long amount of time
When I think of Amazon, I think books. A distant second is the river in South America. When Amazon first came out, there was probably a marketing blitz. I don’t remember, but by pure force of consistence. When I think of Amazon. I think books. Never mind that Amazon sells tons of other things. Perhaps it’s work too well. At any rate. The low frequency message, books and amazon, has been branded into my mind. The slow burn taking years to complete. In such a fast world though, who wants to wait for the outcomes of a long term plan, when a game changer could come on the scene at any time? What about the slow death of ubiquity?
Overall, there is something to be said about both approaches. The question is, what is right for you?
Share This!Posted on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 in
